Internship Report Academic Year 2009-10 International Academic Programs 250 Bascom Hall 500 Lincoln Drive Madison, WI 53706 (608) 265-6329 www.studyabroad.wisc.edu
Table of Contents Executive Summary........ 2 Table 1. Internship Participation by Region......3 Table 2. Internship Participation by Country......4 Table 3. Participation by Program Duration....5 Table 4. Participation by Gender 6 Table 5. Participation by Ethnicity..7 Table 6. Participation by Academic Level.. 8 Table 7. Participation by Major (Alphabetically).......9 Table 8. Participation by Major (Popularity)..........10 Student Testimonials....11 Pg.1
Executive Summary INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC PROGRAMS Internship Report for Academic Year 2009-10 The total number of International Academic Program (IAP) students participating in an internship for academic credit was 103, a 5.10% increase from 2008-09. IAP defines an internship as a work abroad placement in an apprenticeship capacity with working professionals in that field. In addition to the 103 students who earned academic credit for their internship experience, 24 students participated in non-academic internship opportunities on the Florence, Italy and Bologna, Italy programs. In 2009-10, IAP offered 25 programs on which students could do internships for academic credit. Out of these programs, 8 were stand alone internship programs and 17 were study abroad programs that offered an internship as a course opportunity. The percentage of students doing internships on yearlong programs in 2009-10 was 13.59%. In addition, 36.89% of internship participating students went on a spring semester program, 20.39% of those students participated during the fall semester, and 29.13% attended summer programs. The top three majors of internship participants were Political Science (16 students), Finance (7), International Studies (7), Journalism (7), and Environmental Studies (5). In 2009-10, the top five countries in which students participated in an internship were the United Kingdom (31 students), Kenya (23), Ecuador (13), Panama (12), and Australia (7). IAP offers internships on six continents. Europe was the most popular region to do an internship for UW-Madison students, attracting 36.89% of internship participants in 2009-10. The second most popular region was Africa (at 28.16%). In 2009-10, internships attracted a greater proportion of female (69.90%) to male (30.10%) participants compared with the UW-Madison Fall 2009 undergraduate campus ratio of 51.8% female to 48.2% male.* In 2009-10, 16.50% of IAP participants going on internships reported being African American, Asian American, Native American, or Hispanic. Compared to the entire campus, UW-Madison s Fall 2009 Undergraduate class percentage was 14.60% for the same ethnic groups.* *Taken from the UW-Madison Data Digest 2009-10 compiled by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Budget,Planning, and Analysis (http://apa.wisc.edu/datadigest/data_digest_10.pdf). Pg.2
Table 1. Internship Participation by Region Region Participants Percentage Europe 38 36.89% Africa 29 28.16% Latin America 25 24.27% Australia & Oceania 7 6.80% Asia 4 3.88% Middle East 0 0.00% TOTAL 103 100.00% Pg.3
Table 2. Internship Participation by Country Country Participants Percentage United Kingdom 31 30.10% Kenya 23 22.33% Ecuador 13 12.62% Panama 12 11.65% Australia 7 6.80% India 4 3.88% Ireland 4 3.88% Botswana 3 2.91% Germany 3 2.91% Ghana 3 2.91% TOTAL 103 100.00% Pg.4
Table 3. Internship Participation by Program Duration Duration Participants Percentage Spring Semester 38 36.89% Summer 30 29.13% Fall Semester 21 20.39% Academic Year 14 13.59% TOTAL 103 100.00% Pg.5
Table 4. Internship Participation by Gender Gender Participants Percentage Female 72 69.90% Male 31 30.10% TOTAL 103 100.00% According to the UW-Madison Data Digest 2009-10, the campus-wide ratio for the same period was 51.8% female and 48.2% male. Pg.6
Table 5. Internship Participation by Ethnicity Ethnicity Participants Percentage White 76 73.79% African American 7 6.80% Hispanic American 5 4.85% Asian American 4 3.88% Native American 1 0.97% Unknown 10 9.71% TOTAL 103 100.00% According to the UW-Madison Data Digest 2009-10, the campus-wide percentages for the same period were 85.4% White/Other; 6.2% Asian American; 4.0% Hispanic American; 3.3% African American; and 1.1% Native American. Pg.7
Table 6. Internship Participation by Academic Level Academic Level Participants Percentage Senior 72 69.90% Junior 23 22.33% Graduate Student 3 2.91% Sophomore 2 1.94% TOTAL 103 100.00% Pg.8
Table 7. Internship Participation by Major (Alphabetically) Accounting 2 Actuary Science 2 African Studies 3 Anthropology 3 Art 1 Art History 2 Biology 4 Chicano/a Studies 1 Civil Engineering 1 Classics 1 Communication Arts 4 Consumer Affairs 1 Economics 2 Education 4 English 3 Environmental Studies 5 Family and Consumer Education 1 Finance 7 Geography 1 History 2 History of Science 1 Horticulture 1 Integrated Liberal Studies 2 International Business 1 International Studies 7 Journalism 7 Library and Information Studies 3 Management and Human Resources 2 Marketing 2 Molecular Biology 1 Nursing 1 Philosophy 1 Political Science 16 Psychology 1 Religious Studies 1 Retailing 1 Risk Management 2 Russian 1 Social Welfare 1 Sociology 3 Soil Science 1 Spanish 2 Theatre and Drama 1 Women s Studies 2 Zoology 1 Unknown/Undecided 20 Grand Total 132 Pg.9
Table 8. Internship Participation by Major (Popularity) Political Science 16 Finance 7 International Studies 7 Journalism 7 Environmental Studies 5 Biology 4 Communication Arts 4 African Studies 3 Anthropology 3 Education 3 English 3 Library and Information Studies 3 Sociology 3 Accounting 2 Actuary Science 2 Art History 2 Economics 2 History 2 Integrated Liberal Studies 2 Management and Human Resources 2 Marketing 2 Risk management 2 Spanish 2 Women s Studies 2 Art 1 Chicano/a Studies 1 Civil Engineering 1 Classics 1 Consumer Affairs 1 Elementary Education 1 Family and Consumer Education 1 Geography 1 History of Science 1 Horticulture 1 International Business 1 Molecular Biology 1 Nursing 1 Philosophy 1 Psychology 1 Religious Studies 1 Retailing 1 Russian 1 Social Welfare 1 Soil Science 1 Theatre and Drama 1 Zoology 1 Undecided 20 Grand Total 132 Pg.10
Student Testimonial: Colleen Larsen Tropical Conservation Semester Program in Ecuador Spring 2010 The Ceiba Tropical Conservation semester was one of the best experiences I've had at this university and quite possibly in my life. Ceiba has struck a perfect balance between challenging coursework and exhilarating field work to make the semester educational and fun. Specifically the internship portion of the program allowed me to apply what I had learned about sociology and conservation in class to a community project of my choice. My global perspective on conservation developed as we visited different Ceiba conservation sites and directly saw the challenges that arise when talking about conservation on a global scale. I learned the stakeholders and their culture need a primary voice in any conservation effort and feel empowered to include conservation in whatever I wish to do professionally. Academically the program gave me the opportunity to get to know two incredible professors and learn from them in an extremely hands on fashion. The enthusiasm they have for conservation and learning in general was contagious and methods I learned from them will certainly contribute to my future academic success. Professionally I now understand the relevance and importance of addressing conservation in every career. A fire has been lit inside of me to seek ways to problem solve across boarders without being afraid of the challenges cultural differences may pose but instead seeing the diversity of ideas at hand. I have been inspired to travel, and to work with the global community to create a better home for us all. Pg.11
Student Testimonial: Kyle W. CIEE Academic Program in Legon, Ghana - Fall 2009 During my time in Legon, Ghana, I had the opportunity to participate in an internship through the Development Studies Track that was offered to us. Living in Legon, a city located just five miles from the capital city of Accra, I had so many opportunities to become a part of Ghanaian culture. As an elementary education major, I knew I wanted to be involved in some way with the Ghanaian education system. I was fortunate to find my placement at La Wireless Primary, a public school located in Cantonments, a region just outside of Accra. After somehow navigating my way aboard two different tro-tros- essentially vans or small buses- I finally arrived at La Wireless, excited yet nervous for my first day. Upon meeting the third grade teacher I would be working with, and seeing the school for the first time, I began to take in everything that would soon become a large part of my time in Ghana. While I anticipated observing the teacher that I would be working with for the next three months, I was in fact proven quite wrong. As the students filed in to begin the day, after meeting in the front of the school to sing the school anthem, I was handed an elementary math book for teachers. I began paging through it, to familiarize myself with the material I would soon be teaching. However, teaching began a little sooner than I expected-only minutes after I started looking through the text, I heard, You should begin now. If we wait for everyone to come (as the students had not all arrived), we will not have enough time to complete the lesson. A little taken aback, and extremely nervous, I took my place at the front of the class, chalk in hand, ready to give my best attempt at a very impromptu math lesson. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the size of the class, which I later counted to be an overwhelming total of fifty five third grade students. My role with La Wireless Primary School remained relatively the same over the course of the semester. Though it did not start as I expected, I learned so much from this experience; about teaching, about Ghana, and about myself. It was one of the most challenging and one of the greatest learning experiences I have had in my life, and I am confident it always will be. Gaining control of a class of over fifty students, nearly enough for three classrooms in places throughout the United States, was something I was extremely proud of. Being able to hold the attention of those students was also a difficult feat to accomplish, as supplies were scarce. In the end, I was able to make the trek to La Wireless, teach a variety of different math lessons, and walk away feeling I had made an impact. Though my effect may be considered trivial on a larger scale, I know this experience will certainly help with whatever plans my future holds. Pg.12
Student Testimonial: Erin B. Alliance Academic Internship in Pune, India Summer 2010 I decided to participate in the Alliance s Pune Summer Internship program because I wanted not only to travel to India, but also to immerse myself within her culture, people, and daily life. I had been considering becoming an English teacher abroad, and the internship component of this program was perfect for testing whether or not that career was right for me. While in India, I worked at Epiphany School, an elementary English-medium school, where I tutored students who were struggling the most with English after school. The internship actually grew into a directed research project, and mine involved observing and evaluating the current techniques used to enhance students English listening skills, developing and testing new tools, and assessing how well the new tools worked. During the completion of this project, I worked with a faculty guide on a weekly basis, learned the difficulties and the joys of teaching, and most importantly, got to know and love delightful Indian kids, with whom I continue to keep in touch. The Alliance really tailors each directed research project to fit the needs of each American student, and my project was utterly perfect for what I intended to discover in India. No matter how many times you hear it, it never ceases to become true: India will change your life, and the Alliance offers a special program to foster that change. Pg.13